Falling Falling Snow
by khdayskh1314
Summary: He looked straight into my eyes smiling,"Eyes are the window to the soul," he told me."You just have to look closely." Xion Uchida is just an average school girl when an old memory from two years past comes back for a visit-or maybe to stay... ON MAJOR HIATUS
1. There's Always A Light At The End

**Hey guys, it's my next story and I hope u like it. Like I said before, there may be some Sokai but I really don't know. This is my second AU.**

**Hope u all read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own kingdom hearts or Roxas or Xion**

**Chapter 1 of Falling Falling Snow**

I was no one. I didn't belong. There is no place for me to go anymore...

I thought this as I ran down the cold alleyway. It was snowing and it was early February. My feet made a soft crunching sound as I dashed through the snow. The wind howled in my ears and chilled me to the bone but anything was better than that forsaken, desolate place that I used to call home.

I looked to the skies as the bits of cold drifted down on my raven hair. The same hair that Mama used to say was so beautiful. Before the accident, before both of them were taken..

_**flashback**_

"Xion... I don't know how to say this but, both of your parents are dead."

I stared at her. How could they both be dead? They couldn't be. They promised that they would be back with the present they promised me...

"I know you're old enough to understand this. For goodness sake you're thirteen! So let me explain. You will be sent to your aunt since you're an orphan now. She's going to be a great guardian And..."

She didn't know anything. My aunt was a cursed, horrible witch who didn't give a damn about what I thought about.  
>And with that thought, I ran out the door taking my coat with me leaving my grandmother trying to grab me but I was already gone.<br>My life went from a perfect one with no impurities to a living hell except everything was frozen. Every good thing of my past was covered, never to be seen again because of the white bits of snow.

_**back to the present**_

I kept running. I didn't have anywhere to go and there was no purpose left in my life. Why was I even born in the first place? Tears began to fall from my eyes as they began to melt the snow around where they fell. I wasn't looking where I was running to and I suddenly hit someone or something. The collision was followed by a sudden "oomph!"

I looked up. There was a boy who had bright blonde hair not much taller than me. He didn't look much older than me either. I backed away. The boy saw my face as I tried to hide my tears. I began to run away but his hands firmly grabbed my shoulders. I had no energy left so I didn't bother to struggle. He turned me around and looked straight into my eyes. The first thing I noticed was how his eyes sparkled in the white light around us. I began to relax but I was still utterly unhappy. The boy frowned and then spoke to me,

"You don't look so happy. Why do you look so sad?" he said in a worried voice. My face was wet with tears as I shook my head. It was too painful and I didn't want to tell him. Suddenly he surprised me by pulling me into a hug. Why did he hug me? I was a stranger to him. For gosh sake I didn't even know his name! I had no meaning to him. But I was lonely. I needed someone to hug and tell all of me problems to even if he was a stranger.

I then just broke down and cried softly into his shoulder. He comfortingly patted me back and mumbled soothing words to me. He still was hugging me when he asked me a question,  
>"What's your name? How old are you?" he said in a soothing voice.<br>"M-my name is Xion Uchida. I'm thirteen."I said still teary.  
>"I'm Roxas, Roxas Hikari." Then he answered me with a kind reply,"I know what you've been through. I've gone through that too.."<p>

I slowly looked up at him. He has? How did he know anything about me other than my name and my age?  
>He let me go but continued to looks at me with sad but reassuring eyes.<p>

"H-how do you know?" I asked nervously. I was unable to glance back at him in order to hide my sadness.

"I could tell by your eyes. You've lost someone very special to you huh?" he said softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked him."how can you tell by just looking at me?"

"Eyes are the window to the soul," he told me."you just have to look closely."

I looked down and whispered hoping he wouldn't hear, "it's my mom and dad.." still he heard me and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him.

Roxas smiled sadly and said to me, "Why aren't you at home? Whoever is waiting at home must be really worried about you."

I looked at him. He smiled softly and asked me where I lived. He nodded and took me there. He opened the door and I saw my grandmother. I ran to her arms, crying again. She hugged me and thanked Roxas. He beckoned me to go outside again and I followed him to an alley right beside my house. He looked at me with happy but sad eyes.

"Xion, I have to go with my dad to Traverse Town so he can run his business. My father is the president of a very large company so I'm constantly moving. He was able to stay here sometimes and one day, we may be able to live here. I'm leaving two days from now." He paused as if waiting for me to say something.

I looked at him and thought of something to say.

"Roxas, I'll be there. I'll be there to say good bye." I said confidently and nodded. Roxas grinned and then got up. We said our goodbyes and promised to meet up two days from now.

_**At the Tram Station**_

"So I guess this is goodbye?"I asked with a regretful voice. Even though we had only met a couple of hours ago, I had already become attached to him. Can things ever get better?

As if he was reading my mind, he said to me, "Xion, don't worry. We'll see each other again. I'm sure of it okay?"  
>He smiled warmly at me and I smiled back. Then he spoke again.<br>"Xion. I want you to keep me a promise but first, do you promise not to forget it?"  
>I nodded in response keeping a sincere look.<br>"Promise me this Xion: whenever you need help or feel bad, think of me. I'll do my best to return as soon as I can."

I nodded at this queer promise but I agreed and we made a promise from that day and so forth until he returned to twilight town.

"So I guess I have to wait for you to come back..." I said sadly. Little bits of tears began falling out of my eyes. I quickly blinked them off. I was thirteen and I was crying over a friend I just met! But still. He was one of the best friends I had since he stood beside me when I needed help the most, unlike any of my other friends who just walked away thinking that I needed to be alone.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes tightly. I wished that he didn't have to go! Why does everything bad happen to me? First it was my parents, being destined to live with my ass of an aunt and then my new friend Roxas was leaving me! My thoughts and emotions rampaged in my mind and then I couldn't take it anymore.

Tears slid out of my eyes and I hugged Roxas tightly. He seemed startled for a moment then he relaxed and hugged me back. I was beginning to sob and hiccup so he patted me on the back and murmured to me softly in kind words. I whimpered and buried my head into his chest as I sobbed knowing that the person who helped me in my time of need would be gone. Like everything good I used to have.

The tram finally came into view and we stood on the tracks waiting. The tram door slowly opened and people piled in leaving just Roxas and me. The boy placed his hands on my shoulders and bent down a little so he was level to my face. He leaned his forehead against mine. I blushed and found the urge to look away but I didn't. He stared straight into my eyes and said softly,

"Don't worry. I have the feeling that we'll see each other again. Even if we don't, I'll always be with you, right here. He pointed at my chest where my heart was.

Roxas slowly got up and walked into the tram.

As the door to the tram began to slowly close, he took one last look at me. He smiled sadly then said to me,

"We'll see each other again. I know it!" he paused for a second and seemed to be looking for something. Then he took something out of his pocket and threw it to me right before the door closed. It was a small box. When I caught it, the tram began to pull away from the station. As the tram slowly chugged away I waved and smiled sadly as my friend left me to the place where I would never go.

When I couldn't see the tram anymore, I turned around and began to walk back home. It was still cold outside and I opened the small box that Roxas threw at me.

I opened it and there was a small necklace. In fact, it was some sort of locket. I opened it to see what was inside. There was a small note inside.

'Xion, wait for me okay? I'll always do my best to always be by your side.'

Behind where the note was, there was a small photo of Roxas. I blushed and held the locket close to my heart. I smiled and whispered

"Roxas, I'll wait as long as it takes for you to get here. No matter what, I'll be waiting."

Then snow began to fall...

**I like how I did the ending. Kinda leaves a nostalgic note to it.**

**This story is going to revolve around Valentines Day and Snow (no DUH)**

**Please R&R!**


	2. High School Surprise!

**Oh crud! I haven't posted anything so far inlike weeks! TT-TT blame older sister and my dad for not letting me. I don't have a laptop or a computer… **

**Okay second chap and I hope u like it! A little short tho.**

**Disclaimer: I obviously DON'T own any kingdom hearts characters except for the plot and OC characters.**

**Chapter 2: High School Surprise!**

A couple years later...

It was early February and I was walking to school. I was thinking about the valentines dance that was next week. Who was I going to go with? Will anyone ask me out? Should I just go with a friend?

As I thought these nervous questions, I rubbed the locket that Roxas gave to me two years ago. Oh I missed him so much. I haven't seen him in such a long time, and the last time he spoke to me was so long ago. He wrote me letters the first year he was gone and they were full of excitement and kindness saying how he missed me and how his father's business went along.

Suddenly the day before that year's Christmas, he sent me a little silver bracelet with golden charms with a letter encased in one of the charms. It said:

'To the girl that always makes me smile'

I always wore the locket and the bracelet ever since then but after that Christmas, he suddenly stopped sending me letters. I tried sending him more letters but there was always a return letter saying that he didnt have time to write back because of his father's work.

I continued my walk to school and shivered as cold winds blew around me. Things have changed since then. I got over my parents death and I went to live with my hateful aunt after all. I hated her but I dealt with her harsh words and punishments. Still, lately the treatment has gotten worse since she started drinking and going out to nightclubs a couple of weeks ago. I always tried to keep it a secret but it was , most of the time she came home late so most of the time I stayed away from her.

I began to see my school. Twilight Town High and I was a freshman. I wasnt anything special but I took a few pre-AP classes. I had an average group of friends but I wasn't exactly popular anyway.

When I got to the school I stopped for a moment and paused. There were a bunch of people crowding around a car in the parking lot. The car was a high top with a white coating. Of course only rich kids own that stuff so I guessed it was some popular kid trying to get attention. Ignoring the car and the crowd, I walked on but I thought I caught a familiar flash of spiky, golden hair...

My first period class, science, was on the other side of the school and it took like forever to get there. To make it even worse, the teacher was an asshole and didn't really care about any of us. Most of the time Mr. Mackintol was Sitting on his chair giving us a long and stupid lecture about stuff he doesn't even bother to explain to us or gave us ridiculous assignments that were almost impossible to do. The tests he gave out, I swear, we're rigged to fail even the most smartest in the class. I was only and average student and even the smart ones got at least a C+.

As I stepped inside the classroom, barely anyone was inside. It was pretty obvious why since it was like ten minutes before class. I sat on my seat next to my friend Naminè. She was almost the complete opposite of me. She was a blonde haired girl with a girly personality and always wore at least some form of makeup. Most of the time she wore skirts and acted delicate in front of the boys. She was extremely shy and tried her best not to attract attention. Despite the fact that we were opposites, we managed to become the best of friends.

As I took my place in the classroom, she waved at me and I waved back with a smile. We were only a couple of desks away from each other but sometimes, I felt that we were in completely different worlds. I sat with most of the guys thanks to Mr. Asshole and Naminè, who was his favorite student, got to sit with all of her other friends. I eventually made friends with some of the boys such as Sora, Hayner, Pence, and Ventus(who strangely looked like Roxas). However another guy who sat right behind me, Riku, was constantly flirting with me and tried to sweet talk with me all the time. Riku was the schools most biggest player so I most of the time ignored him but he always seemed to follow me which freaked me out so I had a mental image of him as a stalker. I guessed he was a pervert too because he always was staring at other girls with huge butts and tits. I had no idea he always stalked me though. I didn't have a sexy butt or anything like that.

I shook my head and shuddered at the thought. I had to take my mind off that perv! My thoughts were suddenly disturbed by Mr. Mackintol's loud shout.

"Quiet class! I said QUIET!" he shouted. But despite his shouts we kept on talking, completely ignoring him.

"I SAID QUIET OR YOU WILL ALL GET DETENTION!" he shouted, no, hollered at all of us. After his holler, we were all immediately quiet. He sighed to catch his breath and continued speaking.

"Class, I have announcement to make," he said coldly."we have a new student in the class. He has come all the way from Traverse Town to join us in Twilight Town." He then paused and looked at the window on out door. I saw that there was a shadow of a person standing there. Strangely, the shadow seemed familiar...

Mr. Mackintol continued his little speech, "I would like you all to welcome Mr. Hikari into our class."

Hikari? Where have I heard that before? Everything seemed to be going in slow motion for me. I thought for a moment where I heard the name before. Then it hit me: Hikari was the last name of-

The door opened and a boy a little taller than me with blonde, spiky hair walked to Mr. Mackintol's desk. He then turned to the rest of the class and politely bowed to the rest of the class.

"My name is Roxas Hikari. I am very pleased to meet you all."

**So hows that for an ending? It was fun writing this chap and ill be posting the third soon. Mebbe even today! **

**So u know what to do next: read and review and click the button right below this caption!**


	3. Happiness Comes With A Price

Roxas...

My eyes were wide open as I stared at Roxas Hikari. I only saw him in the classroom like it was only us. Only me and Roxas. He seemed to be smiling at me. Smiling like he always had. I felt my breath leave me and my heart skipped a beat.

Then the classroom was back to normal. Everyone was looking at Roxas as well as me. Mr. Mackintol then announced his seat.

"Mr. Hikari. Would you please sit next to Riku Matsuya? That silver haired boy right there" he pointed at Riku right behind me.

My eyes were trained on Roxas as he walked right past my desk. I tried looking directly into his face and he looked down at me. I tried looking into his eyes trying to see his emotions but I couldn't sense anything. There was a sea of emotions that I would never hope to decode.

I turned around in my seat and glance at Roxas for a second. In that one moment, he glanced at me with a warm smile. Warmth flooded inside me as I knew that my friend was back. I had waited and he was back.

BEEEP!

I slowly turned around and stared at the intercom at the front of the room. Letting out an agitated sigh, I muttered under my breath. Just when I was having a moment there. I gathered my stuff, put on my coat and scarf and headed out the door to history. I wanted to walk with Roxas but something inside me told me that it wasn't time yet. Well he clearly wasn't beside me so why should I be where he was?

The day dragged on. I planned to approach Roxas for the first time in two years at lunch break. That was the only time that we could freely roam the campus. I always brought lunch from home so I could eat while talking to him.  
>The last period before lunch was science. Science was one of the most eventful period of a because almost every class ended in at least an explosion or two. The teacher was Mr. Vexen. Still, he always wanted us to call him Dr. Vexen since he loves science so much. Since saying 'Mr.' or 'Dr.' was kind of annoying to say, we just called him Vexen behind his back even though it pissed him off.<p>

"Okay now students. I want you to take the Sodium Oxide liquid and mix it with the liquified Oxygen and then you'll all get... AAAHHHHH!" Vexen screamed as the test tube suddenly exploded. Smoke quickly filled the room and we all rushed to the windows and opened them to let the smoke out. Some of us were coughing and stayed there until the smoke cleared. Then we all turned to Vexen with dirty looks even though he was our teacher. (**A.N. I have no idea what'll happen if you mix sodium oxide with liquid oxygen or coffee:P but I think that's kinda cool)**

Vexen's hair was in an Afro and he was shocked and coughing too. He was covered in soot and stuttered, "S-sorry class! I accidentally mixed the Sodium Oxide with my coffee..."

The bell rang and it was time for lunch. Most of us rushed to the cafeteria but the rest of us stayed outside to talk or eat our lunch from home. I always sat under the cherry tree. And since it was February, it just beginning to blossom. I opened my lunch and got out my thermos containing the heavenly hot chocolate that I had made for myself this morning. Thankfully it wasn't snowing or else I would have had to eat inside.

I was sipping my hot chocolate when I heard footsteps in front of me. I looked up and saw one person: Roxas.

I dropped the thermos containing the hot chocolate and immediately hugged him, crying. Despite the fact that I was fifteen, I still had a soft spot that I tried to keep hidden from everyone. Roxas was the only person who I didn't hide that from ever since my parents died. As I hugged him, Roxas was startled for a moment and then hugged me back. We separated from the embrace giving me a good chance to look at him Roxas had gotten taller from the first time we met but not that much. He was only a little taller than me like before. His hair had gotten a little darker but still basically the same. I smiled with watery eyes and exclaimed, "Roxas! When did you get back? Why didn't you reply to all the messages I sent you? I was-"

I was stopped by his hand which he placed on my shoulder. He replied happily, "Xion! You don't have to ask that many questions." He laughed slightly. Roxas then bent down to pick up the thermos. He handed it to me saying, "You dropped this. I think you seeing me was too much. Sorry" He chuckled and sat down on the bench beside me.

"Yeah…"I said as I took the thermos smiling at my own excitement. I had so many questions to ask him but I kept quiet. He seemed to read my mind and answered a couple of my questions at once.

He explained to me saying that his father was debating whether to live in Twilight Town or stay in Traverse Town. He saw that Twilight town had plenty of space to build another branch of his vast company. I asked Roxas what his father's company does.

"They're a manufacturing company," he said blandly as if trying to hide something.

"Well, what do they make?" I asked curiously. He stared at me for a moment and looked away with a blush. I tapped him on the shoulder to remind him and then he spoke up.

"They-they make toothpicks and cat litter, "he muttered staring at the ground in embarrassment.

I stared at him for a moment then began to laugh a little.

"Your-your dad got rich selling toothpicks and cat litter? How in the world does a person get rich on that stuff?" I exclaimed still laughing. Roxas then blushed even harder but then began to smile out of amusement. We both laughed and Roxas got over his embarrassment.

"Yeah. My dad got rich somehow selling toothpicks and cat litter. For some ridiculous reason, he made the toothpicks taste like bean and cheese burritos. There are other flavors too. Also the cat litter smells like fresh strawberries. And like the toothpicks, there are other scents too-"

"I still don't get how he got rich on that stuff."

"Well, that makes the two of us," He said with a snicker. "I don't know what's up with the public. I just think that my dad's company is weird."

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep 

Damn! That bell has been pissing me off all day! Roxas got up and then packed his book bag. Sadly, next period, we weren't in the same class since the only classes we had together were math, science, history and music. The next class was art.

For art, we went through the boring stuff that we covered like a month ago so I already remembered it all. I hardly paid any attention and I was waiting for history that was next period so I could talk to Roxas again.

The bell finally rang and I enthusiastically got up and walked quickly to room 7 which history took place. I saw Roxas walk through the door. I smiled and waved and he did the same. Thankfully, he sat right in front of me so the moment he took his seat, I grinned at him and he said hi.

The history teacher was Zexion-Sensei. Sadly, Riku Matsuya was right beside me. He was staring at me as always. I noticed that he was staring at my chest. I quickly turned away from him hiding my chest glaring in anger. He's such a pervert and I hate him for that. Why can't he just hit on some other girl who's actually hot or someone who actually fits him?

Zexion Sensei was one of the more quiet teachers but that didn't do anything to restrict his high expectations. He assigned us a lot of book projects on historic novels and gave us perfectly reasonable tests. Zexion Sensei was my favorite teacher because he was always nice to us and never yelled at us even though we could be really annoying sometimes. His homework wasn't that hard either but it was a lot. The one thing I didn't like about him was that he gave A LOT of projects. I mean we had like two or three every two months. Don't get me wrong. Like I said, he's a nice teacher, but he seriously needs to cut down on the work he's giving all of us!

Zexion-Sensei went up to the whiteboard and wrote something that was completely not what I was used to seeing. It said this:

'What is an ass?'

Everyone started giggling especially the boys. I rolled my eyes and waited for the laughing to stop. When it finally quieted down, Zexion made an important statement.

"It's not the 'butt' ass but the more technical 'ass'. Now please class. Be more mature," Zexion Sensei said calmly.

I raised my hand looking if anyone else was raising their hand. Only Roxas and I were holding our hands up. Zexion called out Roxas. He answered correctly. Then Zexion put up a more serious statement on the board:

'You will be performing a skit activity. Please wait quietly until I assign you with your proper partners.'

A play? I was certainly curious about this. But I did the opposite of what everyone else was doing and calmly took out a sketchbook, beginning to draw while I waited. Naminè wasn't the only artist in the class. We were both equally talented and drawing was one of the few things I loved to do. I drew in an anime style and I was pretty good at it. Naminè, on the other hand, only drew landscapes and objects. One secret I knew about her was that she was horrible at drawing hands and people. She always swept clear of this subject and stuck to drawing animals and flowers.

So while everyone was whispering and instantly spreading gossip about the play, I waited.

"Xion Uchida. Come up to me please," Zexion called out.

I obeyed and walked up to the desk in a decent mood. Zexion sensei announced who my partner was calmly and quietly.

"Xion Uchida. Your partner will be Riku Matsuya. Is that understood?"

**What I nice cliffhanger! sucks for Xion tho but I had to do it or else it wouldn't be a good AU! There would practically be no plot.**

**Had to put the 'what's an ass' for a filler. Seriously. This chappie is less that 2000 wrds :/**

**Now all you have to do is R&R! I mean would you seriously pleeeeze click the button below?**


	4. Play Practice With Matsuya!

**Wow this is officially the longest story ive ever written.  
>Hope u like this chap! Please read and review! ^_^<strong>

**I thank the following for reviewing and favoriting. im sooo sorry if your name doesnt make it in this list, i might have forgotten or made a mistake!**

**NightffallSky**

**amazoness23**

**FYI: the things in bold are Xion's thoughts.**

* * *

><p><strong> +Chapter 2 of Falling Falling Snow: Play Practice With Matsuya?\+**

* * *

><p>"Xion Uchida. You will be paired up with Riku Matsuya."<p>

I wanted to drop my mouth open and scream. I wanted to cry and curse so bad!

But I didn't.

Instead I took a deep breath and began to innocently try to urge Zexion Sensei  
>to rethink the whole situation.<p>

"Sensei. Um do I have to be paired up with Riku? I mean, we don't exactly go along together and-" I suddenly was interrupted by Zexion.

" Xion. What I said will happen. You will be paired with Riku and that is  
><strong>final<strong>," Zexion Sensei said firmly.

I looked at him for a moment and then turned away. Slowly walking to my seat, I sighed in disappointment. Roxas saw me and looked at me in worry. As soon as I took my place, Zexion called out Riku to tell him he was my partner. Roxas then turned around from his seat and whispered to me.

"Xion. What happened?" he whispered with a concerned look in his eyes.

I sulked and slowly lifted my finger up to Riku. I then put my head down and waited for Roxas to fit the two pieces together.

"I-I understand Xion..." I heard him whisper back. I lifted my eyes to look at him. He did a sarcastic smile and said that he would talk to me after school. I then watched as Riku walked back to to his desk. As he passed my desk he glanced at me with a wicked grin. I felt like crying and sulked again.

I then went back to drawing. This time I began drawing a sad girl who looked a little like me**(A.N. the girl is Black Rock Shooter)**who was crying.

"Okay class. I will explain this whole skit activity," Zexion Sensei called out. "You and your partner will be given a specific part of a play that you must act out. It will be one of Shakespeare's plays so pay attention."

We all began talking about the plays at once. I felt a tapping on my shoulder and turned around to see Riku behind me.

"I hope we're gonna do Romeo and Juliet," he smirked at me. I snorted in disgust and turned away.

The class continued the chatter until Zexion Sensei quieted us down.

"Class. I will be giving each of the script that you will perform together with your partner. The play will be..." he paused for a moment looking at a piece of paper.

"Romeo and Juliet!" he announced.

My face immediately fell and Riku smirked at me again.

Everyone else started talking with excitement about the play. Since everyone knew the common romance, they all wondered who Romeo and Juliet would be.

"There will be no try outs like we usually do every year because we have a limited amount of time. I will name out the roles in this classroom **today**."

Everyone started talking once again.

"Children! Please be quiet. I will now announce Romeo and Juliet's actors:" he paused again holding up another piece of paper. "Romeo will be...Roxas Hikari!"

A small crowd of talking broke out once again. I heard a voices talk about the choice of roles. Bits of the conversation flowed around me. "Hikari? For real?" "But he just came here!" "How come he gets Romeo?"

"Like I said my decision is final! Now on to the role of Juliet," Zexion said.

My heart skipped a beat. What it I was Juliet? I hoped I could act as Juliet and act by Roxas' side and in the play we would both...  
><strong><br>Agh! What the heck am I thinking? Roxas is just a friend!**My cheeks burned and I tried to hide them from everyone.

"Naminè Bennett!" Zexion said aloud.

Naminè was Juliet? My mouth almost dropped open in surprise and disappointment. I looked at Naminè and she seemed to be **smiling**. Looking at Roxas, he sighed and held his head in his hands. Guess he wasn't that happy to be Romeo.

Sighing, I sulked in my seat. I actually wanted to be Juliet... Then my cheeks reddened again. Shaking my head, I waited for the teacher to call out my role.

"...Xion Uchida, you'll be Juliet's nurse," Zexion Sensei called out.

Her nurse? I didn't know that role. **I guess I'll just look it up when I receive the script.**

I didn't really pay any attention to what was happening around me. All I remember was a lot of chatter and whispers about the roles

"Riku Matsuya," Zexion's voice called out.

My head immediately snapped up hearing his name. I hoped that there wasn't a role for the nurse's lover...

"Paris," Zexion bluntly said.

Riku raised his hand before he teacher could continue. He spoke out before the teacher even called on him.

"Um what is the role of...Paris? What does he do?" he asked with a bored tone of voice.

Looking at the cast paper again, Zexion scanned the paper and then replied to Riku's question.

"Paris is a young count and kin to a Prince. He wants to marry Juliet," he announced.

Riku sighed and nodded but was still looking at me. His eyes drifted to Naminè but he seemed to show no interest at all.

Meanwhile, Zexion was still announcing the remaining cast. He was by now giving the roles of the lesser characters. Turning to Roxas in front of me, I tapped this shoulder. He turned around with a questioning look.

"Roxas, how do you feel now about being Romeo?"

"Weirded out. I'm not that excited to get paired up with a blonde who looks like she wants to kiss me to death," he sighed in distaste as he looked at Naminè.

"Well she is my friend and all..." I muttered.

Roxas' expression turned guilty, "I don't mean anything bad or anything toward her, it's just that I'm not that enthusiastic about this play!"

I shook my head indicating that it was okay and I smiled. Turning to the teacher once again, I noticed that he had stopped announcing the roles and switched to another topic.

"Class, for your partners, the two of you will work together to memorize your lines together. You two will practice your lines with each other. You may do so during school, after school or even in your houses. The two of you should practice at least once a week," he said to all of us and we nodded in  
>understanding. "I'm fine if the two of you practice separately though every once in a while."<p>

"Any questions?" he paused but no one said anything. "If you want to talk to me, you may do so during lunch or after school."

After he was done talking, the bell rang. School was now officially over for the day. Everyone got up and immediately walked outside talking about the play. When I exited the classroom, Riku suddenly came up to me.

"So, when do you want to practice? You can come over to my house right now..."

I interrupted him, "H-how about tomorrow after school?" I said nervously. Luckily he nodded but kept on talking to me.

"Too bad that Paris isn't the Nurse's lover. It would be great if he was..." he smirked at me and I shoved him away.

"Oh getting feisty aren't we?" he laughed and then walked away from me.

I was fuming! 'How could he talk to me like that? Seriously, he needs to get life and stop bothering me so much!' I thought hot headedly.

Suddenly Roxas bumped me on my side and was laughing at my sudden surprised expression.

"Hey what was that for?" I huffed rubbing my side in mock pain.

"Nothing. You just looked like you needed that!" he laughed again.

I shook my head with a smile. Even though we've only seen each other twice in our whole lives, I felt as if we've been friends for our entire lives.

"Ever since you came here at Twilight town, where have you been living?" I asked him.

He looked up to the orange sky as if thinking.

"Well, for now my dad and I have been living in a hotel room for the past week. We plan on moving in a small apartment. It's probably going to be huge and luxurious though. My dad always looks for the best," he sighed.

"Hmm is it okay if I come over some time in the future when you move in?" I asked Roxas

He nodded and kept on walking. I ran to catch up with him.

"About your role..." I paused. "I mean in the play, who's your practice partner?"

"Hmm, for some reason he didn't give me a partner. After he dismissed us, he asked me and Naminè to stay in class for a while. He told that the two of us would be practicing alone. I guess that's because the Romeo and Juliet parts should be practiced alone."

"So does that mean that you can practice with anyone you want?" I asked him.

He nodded with a plain look, "Hey Xion."

"What is it?"

"What about we practice together like a couple of days from now?" Roxas asked me with a grin.

I nodded happily. By then, the two of us were at the tram common by now and we had to part for now. We stopped walking to say our last words.

"When do you want to come over?" I asked the boy.

"W-what? This soon?" he asked with a slight blush.

I laughed, "No really, when do you want to practice with me?"

His face relaxed and then he put both of his arms behind his head, looking at the sky, "Oh I dont know, how about...tomorrow after school?"

I thought for a moment and my mind went blank. 'Didn't I have something to do tomorrow? Nah..' I shook my head and nodded at Roxas and in return a smile was painted on his face.

"So I guess this is good bye then," he sighed.

"Huh? Oh I guess so," I said. "See you tomorrow then!"

He nodded, "See you too!"

He then turned around and began walking away. But I wanted to do something before he left...

Running up to him, I hugged him from behind tightly. He gasped in return.

"I did miss you... I'm glad to have you back," I muttered.

There was silence for a few moments and I let him go from my hold looking down at the ground with my hands behind my back. At first I thought he was going to walk away again but then he replied back.  
>"I missed you too," he said with a soft smile.<p>

Then he turned around and walked away. In the distance, he turned around for a final wave. I smiled and waved back and I watched until he was gone.

I grinned to myself, turned around and walked back to my own home.


	5. Clash Of the Three

**REMAKE.**

**Falling Falling Snow Chapter 5: Clash Of the Three**

* * *

><p><strong>BEEEEEPPPPPPP<strong>

The sound of my alarm clock made me open my eyes instantly as I shot awake. I grabbed my alarm clock and dragged it onto my pillow so I could catch a glimpse of the time and it read:

6:45

I blinked.

The hand on the clock 'tock'ed once more.

"Oh crap I'm going to be late for school!" I squirmed in my bed and sat up immediately.  
>I hopped out of the clutches of the mattress and hurriedly put on my school uniform. I was about to rush to the bathroom to brush my teeth when I decided to open my bedroom window curtains to have a look at the sunrise.<p>

Except that there was no sunrise.

Instead my sleepy eyes were greeted by a darkness that only a very early morning would behold. I stood there stupefied for the slightest moment until I knew who had done this unforgivable crime.

"Vanitaaaaasssss!" I yelled out loud with as much anger and frustration my aunt usually showed whenever she looked at me.

A snicker sounded in the hallway and my bedroom door opened to reveal the smirking face of a 16 year old male with spiky black hair and amber eyes.

"Goooood morning Xion!" He said slowly and loudly with a fake and long yawn.

"What time is it really you idiot?!" I screamed at my horrid relative.

He looked at the watch on his right wrist and put on an innocent face.

"Only 4 in the morning, dearest cousin. Well, I say that it's great that you woke up so early, considering you are almost always are late to school," He snickered as he said this.

"Oh whatever. What if she wakes up this moment and gets super pissed at us like she always does?" I asked with an annoyed look on my face.

"Well, I know that I won't get in trouble," The black hair boy said haughtily staring at me with an evil grin on his face.

That, as a matter of fact, was pretty true since my aunt was so sweet around her 'precious Vanitas' as she always said with such a sickly sweet voice. Vanitas had no pity for me, who would always get yelled at for making even the slightest mistake at something.

"Well, be glad that the two of us don't go to the same school or else I would beat you up every day. Got it?" I stared at him through my burning eyes still sprinkled with the grains of the sand man.

By now, I was so tired; I could collapse right in front of my cousin this very moment ,sound asleep, so I was feeling pretty down right now. But I decided to give Vanitas one last piece of my mind.

"Just…don't mess with my clock again or else-" I slapped him quickly on his cheek, "You're going to feel something a lot worse than that."

I took a big breath and looked at him in the eye once more to make sure that he wouldn't tattletale on our aunt like he always does.

"Understood, you little idiot?" I sneered at him even though he was 2 years older than I was.

He didn't have to tell me, I could see it in his eyes.

So let out a loud puff of air, clearly exhausted from shouting and sleep deprivation, and shut the door in his face.

"Screw that idiot…I'm going back to sleep again…"

And after changing my alarm clock's time back to normal using my iPhone, I flopped on my bed and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

><p>Once again, I woke up to the annoying sound of my alarm clock. But I was very relieved that I didn't have to awaken to one of Vanitas's tricks.<p>

I turned off the alarm and straightened out my uniform which I was already wearing from the 'early morning fiasco', and left to the bathroom to wash my face.

Feeling refreshed after cleaning myself, I went to the kitchen which was thankfully empty. I was a decent cook so I prepared a dish of eggs, toast, and some sausages from last night's dinner. I was done cooking quickly and I ate the meal in only a minute or two.

The house was quiet and felt empty so I guessed that Vanitas already left to his school which was one of the academies where all of the rich kids would go to. My aunt also most likely left for work.

"Meh…The less I see of them, the better."

Having checked off 'breakfast' on my mental list, I brushed my teeth and gathered all of my things for school. Clearly ready, I checked the time. 6:44. School started at 7:20 for some outrageous and amazing reason (All of the other schools start about an hour later). I grabbed my winter coat as well as a scarf and made my way out of the house, hurrying to the tram station. The final tram that headed to my school left at 6:50 so I had to hurry. The distance wasn't that far but I still sprinted to the station to be on time. I made it just as the tram doors closed and I let out a huge sigh of relief that I was inside when they did. This tram would usually take about twenty minutes to get to my school so I relaxed. I had plenty of time.

My eyes searched for a seat but could find none so I stood up holding on to a metal bar that was not being used.

Sometimes, twenty minutes seemed enough to hold an entire lifetime.  
>Boredom was my enemy in this current moment, for there was nothing for me to do. That was a dangerous thing in my book.<p>

"I want to do something…" I muttered to myself so no one could hear.

"Xion? You ride the tram too?" I heard a very familiar voice call out beside me.

I turned my head to my right and sitting on the tram bench behind me was the blonde boy with blue eyes. Roxas.

I began to stutter and say nonsense but I stopped myself before anyone would notice.

"Yeah, I take the tram. So why are you taking it? Doesn't your rich dad take you to school in his car or something?" I asked questionably.  
>The blonde blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Well, In Twilight Town, cars are pretty rare…so I begged my dad not to and he had to go to work anyways so I convinced him to let me take the tram to school now."<p>

"Good. I take it everyday too, so we can see each other every morning!" I smiled brightly.

Roxas's face turned blank for a moment but he smiled as I did quickly.

"That's nice."

I nodded and the person beside him stood up to get off at the upcoming stop. How lucky.

"Umm Xion-" He said.

"I know. Could I sit there?" I pointed to the now vacant seat and the boy nodded.

I took my place beside him and sat there quietly, still feeling drowsy thanks to Vanitas. Turning to Roxas, I asked him how long it would be until we would reach school. He looked at the newly installed electric tram schedule that was planted on the upper side of the facing wall of the tram.

"5 more stops. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to…"

Then I fell asleep on his shoulder.

* * *

><p>"Xion. Xion? Wake up. Our stop is coming." I heard a distant voice say to me.<p>

"Wazzagoinonwhereammmi…?" I groaned.

My eyes opened and I found myself looking into Roxas' eyes.

"R-roxas….? What are you doing here?" I asked still half asleep.

He sweat dropped and a funny look came on his face. "Xion. Let me tell you again: we have to get off the tram real soon!"

"Wha?...Oh."

The blonde patted my back and chuckled slightly. "There, are you awake now?" He said with a light laugh.

I smiled in a dream like state and mumbled, "I'm okay I guess…"

Then out of the blue, my friend got up and held out his hand. The usual tram bell that rang before it approached a stop sounded and the electronic voiced announced my school as the next stop.

"You coming? Or do you want to ditch school?" Roxas said jokingly.

"I'd rather ditch school." I stumbled out of my seat, grabbing his gloved hand to steady myself.

At that moment, the tram doors opened and we walked out of the tram still hand in hand. Noticing this, I let go just in case he was uncomfortable with that. But surprisingly, Roxas showed an apprehensive and strange look in his eyes when I did so. 'So strange…', I thought to myself but I dismissed the thought and readjusted my school bag, heightening my pace of walking.  
>We got to school in minutes and reached homeroom just as the school bell rang. The teacher walked in on time and sat in front of the room and announced a cheery 'good morning' to all of us.<p>

It was a normal morning and I sat in my seat, bored as I watched the teacher explain the usual things we were learning this week. Beside me, Roxas seemed to have the exact same expression as I looked at him and I let out a small laugh inaudible to the teacher. The blonde heard me and his sleepy eyes snapped wide and looked at me with a small smile so the teacher wouldn't notice. Unspoken words were said between us as the minutes passed and we eventually took to passing notes during the period.

Thanks to Roxas, the class passed by quickly and the bell rang.

"Alright you guys! See you tomorrow and don't forget about that report that's due next Monday!" Our teacher announced to the whole class.

As usual, everyone groaned and Sensei left the class with a smirk on his face.

I turned to Roxas who was fidgeting with his pencil as usual and I called out to him.

"Eh?" He dropped his pencil and looked over to me. "Oh wazzup Xi?"

I sighed and smiled at the boy who let out a small chuckle himself. Shaking my head, I told him it was just nothing and I went back to my own thoughts in peace.

* * *

><p>Nothing important happened for the whole day. It was all the same, routine day as usual.<p>

Until history class.

"Oi. Roxas. So about the part you got as Romeo, when are you gonna start practicing?" I asked as the two of us walked together inside of the classroom.

"I'm practicing with you today! Don't you remember? We agreed on it yesterday," The blonde said to me as if the fact were obvious.

"Oh. I forgot!" I laughed while scratching the back of my head.

But when he said that, I felt a strange feeling on my mind. As if something was really wrong.

Like I forgot something.

I tried my best to shake the sensation off of my body but it still kept nagging on the back of my mind anyways. I took my seat near the windows and set down all of my stuff. Trying to ignore everything about the play for a short while, my mind drifted off to other things.

A voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey Xion! Don't forget about the play practice after school today."

I turned around and behind me was Riku Matsuya in his usual place in his desk behind me. He smiled at me genuinely unlike all of those other times he had only smirked and sneered. The guy was showing his true feelings.

But the thing that shocked me the most was what he said.

**_Don't forget about the play practice after school…_**

My eyes widened and I looked away from him. Even though he had been such an asshole and such a pervert this whole time, I couldn't help but feel immensely guilty. I had no idea what to say to him. And the way he had smiled at me made it even worse.

_I'll talk to him after school._ I thought to myself, trying to push away the inevitable.

"Is there something wrong Xion?" The silver haired boy asked behind me.

"It's nothing. Mind your own business," I muttered with beads of sweat on my forehead.

"If you want it that way. Just don't forget, okay?"

When he mentioned the practice after school again, guilt clouded my mind and I held my hand to my face, covering my eyes. Curses strung through my mind and I called myself stupid thinking how in the world I had ever forgotten about Riku. If I didn't do anything about this, either something bad was going to happen, or someone would end up hurt. Physically or emotionally, I don't know.

The bell rang, signaling that the passing period between classes was over and my head shot up to stare at Zexion-sensei. The man immediately made us do a pop quiz which made everyone groan. Except me. I was actually thankful for the teacher to give me something to take my mind off of my problem.

Roxas stole a glance at me. His eyes held the annoyed question, 'is he always like this?' I nodded with a silent sigh doing my best to hide my distressed emotions and went back to my quiz.

I was the first to finish and as usual, I turned my paper over and began to doodle on the back. Zexion never made us turn in anything. He was the sort of teacher to collect only big papers and projects.

My pencil only made a scratch in the paper as I thought in distress what to do. No idea came to mind and I admitted that I shouldn't have been so forgetful and so willing. A heavy sigh was heaved softly when I noticed this.

So I decided to wait and meet the inevitable as calmly as possible.

Zexion collected our tests once we were all done and said that he would pass them back to us the next day. After he was done with the info about the pop quiz, he carried on to the subject of the play.

"First class practice will be two weeks from now. I know it's a long ways from today but just to remind you all, the real play starts three months from today. So knowing the limited time we have, you better practice as soon as you can and as much as possible."

The news on the play was short and sweet and it didn't really take up the period. So Zexion continued the history lesson from where we left off which was something about the 100 Years War in France or something.

Sighing, I hardly paid any attention to the lesson. I already knew all about the war. I read about it before in the textbook already. Instead, I paid my thoughts too well, my own thoughts.

Oh of course I dedicated every one or two seconds once in awhile to catch up on what the teacher was saying since he could randomly call on someone to question them on his discussion, but I doubted it he would ever call on me since I was one of his top students.

So staring listlessly at the whiteboard, I tried my best to piece together a situation on what was going to happen once this period was over. It was kind of like planning for an event…a strange one. I decided that once history was over, I would have to talk to Riku alone. Well, obviously Roxas would come over to talk to me so that would be the time to discuss it with the two of them. But while I was thinking about the whole situation, I wondered why I was fussing about this way too much. Riku wasn't that important to me anyways. Roxas mattered so much more to me. Then if I didn't care about the silver haired boy, why was I dedicating so much of my thought to try to not get his feelings hurt?

His genuine smile that he showed to me was…strange. It was the complete opposite of his usual behavior of course. And something in that smile just made me sway my opinions about him. OF course I didn't like all of a sudden fall for him or something cliché and ridiculous like that, but during that time I was surprised and wondering that maybe he wasn't too bad after all. Maybe he just wanted to be friends.

Maybe he thought his way of being a jackass to my face wasn't the best way to get along with me.  
>I let out a silent breath of air to relieve myself. I was never much the thinker and piling thought after thought always led me to the same thing: confusion. Reality was the only thing that truly fit for me. I didn't care much about the thought or supposing. Sure I loved to imagine and fantasize about things, but I never liked to pay thought to things to make them more complicated than they seemed. That's just how I was and am. Sticking to reality and the things that directly contribute to it.<p>

I never liked too much detail in things that were pointless anyways. So skipping over the boring history lesson, I would like to bring the reader to right after the bell rang.

Turning around, I watched Riku get up from his desk and hold his school bag.

"So where are we going to for practice?" He asked me with that same grin.

I couldn't help but blush slightly in embarrassment. Guilt overflowed in my chest and I didn't speak a word. Luckily Riku didn't notice and stayed in place. He stared at me with curiosity on his face. So before he spoke a word, I let out a sentence.

"I need to talk to you outside, Matsuya."

I walked outside with Riku following me and passed by Roxas's desk where Roxas was still seated, getting his things ready. I looked at him for a second and passed him a knowing look. He seemed to understand but he just stared at me.

Me and Riku got a distance away from the history building but close enough that anyone walking out of it could see us if they looked hard enough.

"Riku. I need to tell you something about play practice."

"Speak up. What about it?" He asked me shouldering his bag.

Right after he said that, I saw Roxas walk out of our history classroom. He seemed to be looking at me. I wanted him to come so I stalled for a few seconds. Finally he saw us and came hurrying towards me.

"Hey Xion! What's up?" He said as he speed walked towards me and Riku. "You're Matsuya Riku, right? Nice to meet you."

Riku looked at him with surprise and shook Roxas's outstretched hand. "It's nice to see you too. Roxas Hikari?"

The blonde nodded and looked at me.

"So when's play practice?" He asked.

Riku heard this and frowned. He stared at the blonde and let out a string of words.

"What the heck are you talking about? I'm supposed to be practicing with her today!"

Gripping my school bag's handle tightly, I held my breath and closed my eyes.

_Dammit._


	6. Betrayal, Recovery, And A Discovery

**OKAY THE MOMENT U GUYS HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.**

**FRICK.**

**I thought I already posted this a long time ago and then I looked over this story to make the next chapter. And look what I found out! I haven't even posted this damn chapter!**

**OTL I am your slave now. Just ask what you want in my story and ill put it in. but only reasonable things. :P**

**There's some OC moments but it can make sense. Some parts in the beginning are irrational but since Xion kinda lied to Riku and he has a*cough*'crush'*cough* on her, it can all add up to why he is so violent at this time...**

**There are actual lines from the actual play****_ Romeo and Juliet_**** in this chapter. and so it will be in others. and for those IGNORANT readers out there, you better read them. Even though it's all old english and stuff, some things in there actually contribute to the fluff and smexyness in here :D**

**You can ignore the dialogue from the play thats longer than 4 lines though. that stuff is not important whatsoever.**

**AND if you dont like this chappie that much, just stop by a day or two later and ill have a beta read version replacing this chap! from my good friend Kyouto Uchiha-Sama!**

**Reference:**

**Roxas=Romeo**

**Xion=Nurse(plays as Juliet sometimes when she practices with Roxas)**

**Riku=Paris(plays as Juliet sometimes when he practices with Xion :P)**

**Namine=the REAL Juliet**

**Falling Falling Snow Chapter 6: Betrayal, Recovery, and A Discovery**

* * *

><p>Damn, what a fix I got myself into.<p>

And the one and only thought I was thinking when this whole predicament happened.

The two boys before me were frowning at each other in condensed frustration and anger and were busy yelling at each other.

"What the hell?! Are you trying to steal my practice partner away from me? You're supposed to practice by yourself!" Riku shouted at Roxas who had a confused frown on his face.

"Zexion said that I could practice with whoever I wanted…" The blonde muttered darkly avoiding eye contact.

"Well that doesn't give you the right to just ask someone to practice with someone if they're already occupied!" The silver haired young man shouted in his face. Again Roxas was silent for a few moments.

Then he turned to me. And at that moment I felt completely heartbroken inside. His penetrating gaze was filled with betrayal and self-guilt. Sadness welled up inside of me and I quickly tilted my head down to shy away from his stare.

Then out of the blue, Riku stepped forward and punched the blonde right in the stomach. Very hard. I held out a hand to stop him but I was too late as the punch connected with my friend's abdomen, knocking out all of the air in him.

"Roxas!" I screamed his name.

The boy crumpled to the ground, out of breath. He heaved slightly as he stared at the raging boy of silver. It was a menacing look that invaded Riku's senses. And Riku, being the very offensive and rough boy he was, clearly didn't like that and violently started to kick the victim's side.

"Stop! Just stop this!" I held Riku's arm tightly trying to get him to stop kicking him.

But the young man's anger was out of control. He always had trouble controlling his anger I've heard from rumors, but I never thought anything as crazy as this.

The silver haired boy finally stopped kicking the blonde who was already screaming in pain. I quickly went to Roxas' side to check if he was okay.

"You! You lied to me about all of this! Why in the world would you say yes to this kid? We're supposed to be play practice partners. And you're not supposed to practice with anyone else!" Riku shouted at my face.

The fiery look in his eyes frightened me. They showed so much devotion and anger. He was looking at me like he owned me. Like I was his.

I frowned and shook my head. "But you don't have to do this! You didn't have I know I screwed up big time…but I-"

Tears flowed down my face. I couldn't believe that just one little moment of forgetfulness would end up to this. Sure Riku's anger contributed to this, but…

"It's all my fault…" I cried out shakily.

Disgust clouded Riku's expression. But for some crazy and irrational reason, I thought I saw heartbreak in his eyes. Just for the slightest second. He let out a heave of anger then ran away from us. I watched him disappear in the distance then quickly paid my attention to Roxas.

The poor boy looked horrible. No inch of his clothing was dirty and at least slightly rumpled, and some dirt was smeared on his white uniform shirt. He already had a bruise darkening on his cheek and there were marks all over his body. Even crimson blood slightly trickled down from his mouth.

I clutched Roxas' hand and closed my eyes tightly. A tear leaked out of my right eye and fell on the unconscious boy's cheek, sliding down the side as if it were his own tear.

"I'm sorry…"

* * *

><p>Luckily I took health class. So I fixed him up well enough to get him to stand up with my support. In fact, he wasn't hurt that bad after all. Just a couple of bruises and recovering from the blow to the stomach affected him.<p>

But the guilt never really went away. Whenever he looked at me, an empty sadness was emitted from his face, penetrating my heart to the deepest depths.

Of course, being the good friend he was, he quickly forgave me with a warm smile. But I still felt guilty about the whole horrible thing. Albeit this deterred out relationship, things between us quickly calmed down and got comfortable again.

As for Riku, he got suspended for four days right after the fight. But I was still his practice partner. And of course, that did nothing to help with the situation. Seeing him made me feel almost as bad as I felt around Roxas.

It was pure ice between us. After he came back to school, he always spoke coldly whenever we talked to each other which was like every other day thanks to Zexion's play, and avoided me whenever he could.

I still decided to practice with Roxas after he got better. In fact I practiced with him as often as I could. And for some crazy reason, I was becoming accustomed to the role of Juliet. Heck, I could even recite every single one of her lines for half the play. I pretty much played her role for Roxas whenever we practiced since she was the one who interacted with Romeo the most.

"She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art. As glorious to this night, being o'er my head. As is a winged messenger of heaven. Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him. When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air," Roxas, pretending to be Romeo, said grandly and as sweetly as possible.

I paused for a moment and spoke the familiar and following words. "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

We let go of our scripts and fell back on the carpet, laughing at the line's ridiculous way of speaking.

"Screw this! I'd rather be acting out Alice in Wonderland than acting out this ridiculous play with completely silly words! And seriously, 'bosom of the air'?! So loverboy here is saying that air has boobs." I laughed while throwing the script to the floor.

"Aside shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Roxas said to me in reply with a smirk, speaking the next line of the page of script he had memorized.

"Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!  
>What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee take all myself," I countered, saying those words as if they came from my own mind and thoughts and not from my memory of the script.<p>

"So you memorized that much? I'm surprised," Roxas sat up and picked up his script to check my words. "Well you got that right…"

"Mmmhmm! So that proves that I'm better than you at memorizing!" I fake sneered at him.

He chuckled and stared at me with an alluring smile.

And I couldn't help but blush.

I shied away from his gaze and muttered to myself. The blonde rolled his eyes with a smile and then took me in an awkward embrace signifying his (play based/fake) love for me/Juliet.

"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo," He murmured as the words flowed inside my ears.

"Y-you don't need to say that like you really love me!" I stuttered loudly, trying my best to hide my heavy blush.

The blonde smirked, showing me a side of him I wasn't familiar with and then closed his eyes, pinning me to the wall of my room.

I closed my eyes shut when I felt his warm breath brush the side of my neck. My breath was let out in small shudders and I hoped for the best.

Then as soon as it happened, the boy withdrew from me leaving me relieved yet slightly disappointed and scratched the back of his head, chuckling with pink cheeks.

"At least, I think that's what Romeo is supposed to act towards her," He said with that familiar cheeky smile.

So he did all of that crazy stuff because he was trying to personify the abstract role of Romeo? Completely confused, I clutched my chest and let out a large sigh.

"I would not for the world they saw thee here," I breathed. "My parents would kill me if they saw us."

"Why? What's so wrong with this? I'm just practicing a play with you," The blonde asked me innocently.

I blushed and looked down. "If they saw what you just did, they would send us to hell."

Looking up, with a sheepish smile, I saw the blonde before he scratched the back of his head once more in embarrassment and clutch the script in his right hand.

"I g-guess we should just get back to the play…" He said nervously.

* * *

><p>On the days when I practiced with Riku were completely different. Instead of interacting with each other like I did with Roxas, we showed no emotion to each other except when we were saying our lines.<p>

We usually practiced in his house since there was no other place to go and we didn't say a word to each other that didn't regard the play except for the occasional 'hello' and 'bye'.

I came to learn that Riku, playing Paris, was a devoted and a chosen suitor for Juliet. And since Juliet was Namine, I thought how that would work out in real life.

Namine was one of Riku's friends. Well, I couldn't really call her his friend but she was one of the people he talked to every once in a while. I knew that she had once had feelings for him since she told me a couple of weeks ago, but I wondered if that was still going on. She barely showed any affection for the boy anymore ever since Roxas got beat up by him.

But focusing on one of our practices in particular, there was on part when the two of us were practicing the part after Romeo had killed Tybalt, Juliet's cousin. It was a conversation between Juliet and her nurse, which was me, and they were discussing about his death.

The funny thing was that Riku was playing as Juliet since she was the only one the nurse was talking to in that scene.

"Will you speak well of him that kill'd your cousin?" I said with as dramatically as possible.

"Shall I speak ill of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name, when I, thy three-hours wife, have mangled it? But, wherefore, villain, didst thou kill my cousin? That villain cousin would have kill'd my husband: Back, foolish tears, back to your native spring; Your tributary drops belong to woe, which you, mistaking, offer up to joy," Riku said in his normal voice.

I expected him to speak in a girl voice. So I suggested so.

"No! Just because I have to play a girl in this part of the script doesn't mean that I have to sound like one!" He spat out.

"Well in my book you do," I laughed.

Riku suddenly had a surprised look on his face and he stared at me.

"W-what the hell did I do? Did I make you angry or something?" I asked nervously, scanning the look on his face.

Then I realized what I did. I actually smiled in his face. I thought we hated each other.

I know that the whole situation sounds stupid, but wouldn't you be surprised and shocked if you're suddenly talking and smiling to a person who beat up one of your best friends?

"C-come on!" I tried to change the subject. "Just try to talk in a girl voice? It'll make things more realistic!"

Riku still had that cold look on his face like he usually did, but I felt something twitch in his face there. I thought that I actually saw a…smile. For the slightest second though.

"Fine…"

He continued in a very girly and high voice which made him sound totally ridiculous. "My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain; And Tybalt's dead, that would have slain my husband: All this is comfort; wherefore weep I then? Some word there was, worser than Tybalt's death, that murder'd me: I would forget it fain; But, O, it presses to my memory, like damned guilty deeds to sinners' minds:  
>'Tybalt is dead, and Romeo-banished;' That 'banished,' that one word 'banished,' Hath slain ten thousand Tybalts …"<p>

This line was a long one and would take a minute or two to say. But while he spoke in his highly amusing voice or a squawking bird or a girl in puberty, I took the time to wonder, why the hell I had showed that ounce of kindness to him only seconds ago.

He couldn't help but show the tiniest silver of happiness did he? But looking back to when he smiled at me that day he beat up Roxas, I supposed that maybe it could relate to that. But…the worst thought came into my mind. Drifting back to that day, when he glared with that sign of fire in his eyes, no, his feeling of **ownership** over me…could it be that…this guy right here had fallen head over heels for me?

Me. This worthless girl who had never associated with his kind. Now how in the world did that happen?

No. I didn't blush, I didn't sigh or fantasize about what would happen if he would ask me out. Why? Because I flat out didn't like this guy. Not at all. And whatever feelings Riku might or does have for me are not mutual with me.


	7. What Was That, Nami?

**Chapter 7: What Was That, Nami?**

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><p>The play practices continued.<p>

My experiences and relationships went through a constant not level course. It was like a train going up and down hills.

For some strange reason, my connections with Riku didn't continue to deteriorate. However, my bond with Roxas only strengthened.

Focusing on Riku, we continued our daily practices. But after each visit to his house, we didn't seem to stiffly say our lines anymore. We seemed to be…improving.

I didn't want It to be. I wanted to shout and scream at him for all he had done to me and Roxas but I just couldn't do anything. His behavior was a complete change to what it was before and after the fight. It seemed to take on a…how should I put this…lukewarm state?

Our conversations continued to take on a lighthearted air to it. We actually socialized while we practiced. I saw his smile more often, and he continued to give me more and more of his true personality.

Even at school, I was kind of shocked to see Riku act the same way as we did at his house. Every once in a while he would wave or smile at me and I would find myself completely flustered. I thought he despised me for that incident last week. It had only been a week for goodness sake! Only a week since he beat Roxas up and showed disgust of me.

Yet he started to express this strange fondness of me. He still showed his dark side to Roxas for me letting him practice with me, but he completely changed what he showed to me.

Then changing to Roxas, we started just meeting up with each other after school and we just practiced wherever place was available.

But every once in a while I would catch Riku's eyes on me whenever we decided to practice during lunch break or after school in one of the classrooms. Even in the library he would sometimes walk in and I would see him in the distance just watching.

It was kind of creepy and normal at the same time. He wasn't really pervading into my personal space but he just looked at me every once in a while…okay you could say _a lot._

Then the most awkward moments would be when he actually talked to me in public. Well school counted as that too right?

Roxas had forgiven me, Riku was talking half stalking me…what is going on in this small, crazy world of mine?

"Hey…Xion."

I turned my head to the voice. I hadn't recognized it. But the thing that surprised me was that I actually _had _recognized it.

Well at least I should have.

My azure eyes blinked a couple of moments in disbelief. There right before my eyes was Namine Bennett.

Namine Bennett. The girl who used to be my best friend?

Going back a couple of days, I guessed I had forgotten that that girl had even existed in the midst of it all. And ever since Roxas had come we had an unspoken falling out…

"X-xion?" She muttered and clutched the sketchbook in her arms even tighter.

I averted my attention from my thoughts and to the girl before me. What did she want?

"What is it?" I uttered out feeling very awkward inside. It felt just too weird to be talking to someone who was supposed to be your best friend but suddenly disappeared from your life out of your own free will. But she had wandered back. Completely out of her character you could say.

"Do you want to hang out after school…?" She looked at me and mumbled a few words under her breath. "Maybe we could go to the mansion like we always used to."

I blinked a few more times and slowly nodded. The blonde's face suddenly brightened and she tipped her head in a gesture of thanks.

Then she mumbled something to me. "Is it just me, or have I completely forgotten about you in the past week…?"

Then we both started laughing.

"Y-yeah!" I let out a choked snicker while wiping away a tear. "I'm so so sooooo sorry Nams! I think it had something to do with Roxas, no?"

Namine looked away with a blush on her face. "I guess so."

I got up and shook her shoulders like I used to do with a ridiculous grin on my face. "You like him don't you?"

She stared at me like I was nuts and shook her head like crazy, the same blush on her face. But even though she had me going there for a while but I sat down on my desk once more and looked at the clock. The break time between classes was almost over.

"Oh come on Nami! I know you do. Just tell me what's up!"

She bit her lip and look away with all the usual gestures like anyone would express when they liked someone. I was really beginning to speculate whether she had given up her little façade with Riku.

"It's just that…we're related."

WTF MIND BLOWN

My mouth felt like it dropped to China and my eyes just stayed locked with hers. The shy blonde did her best to avoid eye contact and she held her hands behind her back with inconfidence.

"I know that I shouldn't be telling you this-" She began to mutter.

My hands locked onto her shoulders and I began shaking her again. "TELL ME RIGHT NOWWWWW!" Like a crazed idiot which brought quite a hint of suspiciousness in the classroom despite there being quite a small number of people. I just thank my lucky stars that the teacher wasn't in here.

"We're not blood related!" She blurted and I stopped shaking her.

"Then how are you related?!"

"Roxas is my stepmother's brother's son!" Namine squealed and I dropped my hands from her shoulders. **(A.N. TAKE NOTE. I got this idea from an anime I watched a while ago. Forgot what it was about but barely remember the name. I think its called 'Hey Kids, I 'm Your Father!')**

I slowly sat down on my desk clearly stupefied by this news. Namine was related…to my friend.

But why was I so mind blown?!

Namine looked away clearly feeling guilty. I put up a hand to stop her.

"Don't go. It's just that I'm kinda surprised okay Nams?" I said to her calmly assuring myself not to frighten her. "Then...no offense, but isn't that kind of...wrong?"

Namine blushed once again and put both of her hands on the table.

"This is none of your business."

I blinked once. Then again. After that the idea finally settled in my head. But i knew the subject would be in my head for a loooooooong time. I nodded my head vigorously to show that i understood.

She looked at me at first acting quite speculatively but she eventually opened up and switched to another subject to put off the shock and awkwardness.

"T-this must be pretty weird for you right?" I nodded at her question. "Then about after school…where should we hang out?"

I blinked. Where was this getting to? My shoulders rose in a shrug. "How about that old mansion? We always used to hang out there and eat ice cream together. How 'bout that place?"

Glad that we were off the awkward part of the conversation, she gave me that 'shy original Nams smile' and nodded vigorously, glad that she got a friend back.

"Meet me at the woods after school okay? At that tree that shakes."

I chirped in agreement and she left my desk with ridiculous grins on both of our faces.

But take note: mine quickly disappeared for obvious reasons…


	8. A Day of Peace

**Hey guys :D This is just a little Namine and Xion bonding chappie. Not much rokushi fluff, but there was this one…never mind. Just read.**

**Nothing important in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I am NOT SHAKESPEARE! I DON'T own Romeo and Juliet. Nor do I own kingdom hearts!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: A Day of Peace<strong>

"Xion, say that again."

"Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day: It was the nightingale, and not the lark,  
>That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear; Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree: Believe me, love, it was the nightingale," The girl said in response to the blonde's command.<p>

Roxas smiled contently and replied, "It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east: Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die."

Xion responded in what text she had memorized. "Yon light is not day-light, I know it, It is some meteor that the sun exhales, To be to thee this night a torch-bearer; And light thee on thy way to Mantua: Therefore stay yet; thou need'st not to be gone."

"Let me be ta'en, let me be put to death; I am content, so thou wilt have it so. I'll say yon grey is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow; Nor that is not the lark, whose notes do beat  
>The vaulty heaven so high above our heads: I have more care to stay than will to go: Come, death, and welcome! Juliet wills it so. How is't, my soul? let's talk; it is not day." Roxas replied.<p>

We paused to take a break. The blonde beside me patted my back congratulating me for all of the lines I had memorized for both the nurse's and Juliet's roles.

"I'm sure that if you had to play Juliet, you'd do just fine," My friend grinned.

I smiled in thanks and I was just about to pull out my script when-

"Think FAST! Say your first line of act three!"

I put away my script once again and thought quickly and recited that memorable line. "A-ay, ay, the cords!" I blurted out.

Roxas looked at his script and nodded. My face beamed in a smile and I looked at my own script to check. Then I frowned in disappointment.

"What's wrong, Xion?"

"I said it wrong. And I stuttered when I first said 'ay'."

Roxas took another look at his script and shook his head. "No you did fine. It was just your tone. Don't worry about it until you're on stage. Okay, Xi?"

I put my script back in my bag and forced a little smile. "Okay. It's kind of that I'm really worried about memorizing all of my official lines since ive been practicing with you so much saying juliet's lines…But I enjoy them. So don't even think about trying to convince me not to practice with you!"

Roxas's mouth hung slightly open like as if he was about to say something but then closed it. The boy muttered, "Dammit, that was what I was going to say…"

I giggled and held a hand up to cover up my smile. But the moment I laid my eyes upon the clock, my eyes widened.

"CRAP!"

Roxas looked at me with the most confused look on his face. "Eh…?"

"My aunt's coming back from work! If she sees you here she'll flip and say that we had sex or someth-" My voice faltered as my heart pumped all of its blood to my face. I was officially a tomato for life.

I turned to look at Roxas. Seemed as if he had made the transformation too.

"S-so…I guess I should go now…" Roxas stuttered as he grabbed his bags and headed out to the front door.

I followed him to see him out. When we got to the front door, we both said goodbye to each other and I ran back to my room to change. Today was Sunday and I was going to finally meet up with Namine. We planned to hang out on Friday but that got changed to Sunday since we didn't have any time. But I ran out of my house minutes before my aunt came home. Like I said a few chapters back, the less I saw of her, the better. She didn't even care what I did.

I hurried downtown, past all the shops, past the tram lines, and through the hole in the wall that lead to the forest.

The scent of fresh pine needles and the light muskiness of the forest greeted me as birds sang their songs from the green canopy above me. It amazed me how tall the trees were here. But ignoring that, I hurried to the special meeting place.

There was a tree in the center of the forest that always shook when you hit it hard enough. It was weird and whenever it happened, people said that they felt like something, or someone, was watching them. But recently there was no creepy presence coming from the tree anymore.

Namine was there already, the white of her clothes standing out in contrast to the earthy brown or forest green of the trees and grass around her.

"Hey!" I grinned and waved to her. The blonde turned to look to me with a small smile on her face as well.

I rushed to meet her and we both stood at the tree.

"So, what do you want to do?" Namine asked me clutching a bag that she had brought along with her.

I laughed, "Well you're the one who asked me to come here in the first place!"

The girl covered her mouth in embarrassment and turned towards the mansion in the distance. "Let's go there to our hideout. Then we'll find something to do there."

My head nodded in content and I looked at her again. "I'll race you!"

Namine wasn't that great of an athlete or runner but hey, neither was I. But like always, the girl grinned and took off for an unexpected head start.

"Hey! No fair!" I shouted towards her. But she was too far to hear me. Running after her, I caught up with her. We reached the clearing where the old mansion was, rushing toward the locked gate. The first person to touch the giant lock would win. I did a final burst of speed and reached for the lock but at the last second, Namine touched it with her hand.

I stopped and took a deep breath and rested, leaning against the brick wall. Namine stood beside me, her hands on her knees trying to recover from the run. I stole a glance from her. The girl was looking at the sky with the biggest smile on her face that I'd ever seen. This was her first time ever winning a race against me anyways.

When we were done resting, we climbed over the gate and walked inside the abandoned mansion.

The mansion was still as big as it was. Old cobwebs were everywhere, and creepy statues stared at us as we walked past. But we both hurried up the stairs into a hidden room in the corner where no one could see.

Once we opened the door, we were met with a bright white glow from the room. After all, it was all white. The furniture, the walls, the books were all white. This was our favorite place to hang out and do…stuff.

"It's been a while huh, Xion?" Namine sighed, sitting in her usual chair and pulling out her sketch book from her bag. She immediately began to draw. In fact, this was her favorite place to make her art since she says that the blank surroundings helps her think better.

My lips parted in a sigh. Walking over to the only window in the room, I opened them and let the curtains flutter in the breeze. It was always cool here, and there was always a comfortable breeze to sweep in the room.

The window was large so I leaned on It with my elbows, holding my head up with my hands, looking at the beautiful view of Twilight Town. I've always loved living here. Even though this was a sleepy old town, which was the opposite of me, I've felt comfortable her all my life. This was where I was born anyways.

I started to rub the charms on the bracelet that Roxas had given to me two years ago. The golden charms glinted in the warm sunlight, reminding me of the boy's golden hair. I smiled to myself. In fact, this whole town fit him perfectly. I was glad that he moved here. It was like this was where he belonged. His kind nature, mediocre tone, and average sweetness all melded with the town's traits. He'd always be my friend for that.

I looked out the window again and looked down on the forest. My ears could hear the distant bells of the clock tower, signaling that it was late afternoon. Birds chirped in the forest and I could hear the rustling of firs in the distance.

Everything was so peaceful…


	9. Drawing

**Nothing that deep in this chappie. Think of it as a filler. Some Nami Xion bonding and a small convo bout Roxas. I hope you guys like it! :D  
><strong>

**Disclaimer:*llleeeeevannnn pooolllkaaa* eh? You know I don't own anything online cept my ffs and facebook right?**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Drawing<strong>

Peace…That was what I had now.

"Xion, could you come here please?"

I turned away from the beautiful view towards my blonde friend. She held her sketchbook up and said, "I want you to critique a drawing I made."

Looking at her, I noticed that she had a slight flush in her cheeks. I wondered why…

My feet made way towards her. I placed my elbows on the table and looked down on her drawing.

And what was on the paper was-Roxas.

"Eh?!"

It looked delightfully different and strange at the same time. His face and eyes were a mix of realism and animeness (if that's a word…). But it gave him a light and cheery expression, which would be what best fit his personality.

"D-do you like it?" Namine squeaked and placed her hands between her knees. "I decided to try something new…"

I took the book in my hands and held it in the air. "You did this all by yourself? No referencing or…pictures?"

I blushed as I said the last word. The last one was a possibility IF Namine had stalked him and took pictures of him like a delirious fangirl…I shuddered. If that was the truth, I probably wouldn't talk to her for a while. And why would Roxas have any fangirls other than the fact that he's adorable, smart, utterly handsome, has that awesome spiky hair, is rich and-

"Pictures? Where the heck would I get pictures from?" The girl looked at me with a creeped out expression.

I mentally tripped on myself thinking about what I just thought. Did I just say all those things in my head? Then I noticed that these thoughts were taking a huge toll on my facial expression. I looked like a friggin old troll with a seizure.

Then Nami burst out laughing.

My hand flew up to slap myself in an epic face palm. Then I cleared my face immediately to get rid of that ridiculous expression.

"I-I'm so s-sorry Xion! It's just that-" She let a couple more laughs for good measure which practically scarred my inner image of myself (No big deal right?). "-You looked so funny right there!"

My blue orbs rolled and I looked down at the picture of Roxas.

I caught her off guard as I looked at her with a evil grin on my face. I knew how she was going to react to this.

"Why did you draw a picture of Roxas?" I said with a sneer.

Her eyes widened in a midlaugh and her face went blank.

1

2

3

*_Now*_

Then she fell over with the chair, her hair flying everywhere until there was a crash of her butt and the chair against the ground.

It was time for me to crack up.

She always acted like this when she was emotionally caught off guard. If you hadn't guessed right now (you'd be pretty stupid not to notice) she isn't one of the strongest people in the world to approach. Whenever I got her, her brain was practically dead for about ten seconds.

I dunno, probably some crazy brain disease.

My fingers snapped and she came back to life. It took practice to know when to snap at the right time.

"Okay. Now why did you draw a picture of Roxas again?" I stooped down to help her back up and set the chair back in place.

She brushed herself off and looked at me with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry about making your brain go dead. I just had to go for it." I giggled and sat down beside her while I still held the sketch book.

Namine gave me a small smile back in forgiveness and she looked at the book, as red as a tomato.

"Well, you know…"

My fingers took a hold of one of her pencils as I looked at the picture with my hand on my imaginary moustache. "Do you mind if I add a few details to it?"

My friend shook her head. "No, I don't have a problem with."

I nodded and I took a firm hold of the picture and began modifying it. While my eyes focused on the drawing I said, "Oh, and I thought you sucked at drawing people. What's up with the new skills?"

"Well, I decided to take a look at your style of drawing since I was so bad at drawing realistic people. I decided to mix the two together and this is what I got." **(A.N. Think of the way she draws kind of like the way Square Enix does :D but with less intense eyes and features)**

"Mmmhmmm. That was pretty smart. You're doing pretty good at this so far. But you have to get the proportions right. This eye isn't aligned with the other properly. And you should follow these guidelines." I drew light lines on Roxas's face (see what I did there xD).

Namine loved sticking to rules in everything. Especially drawing. Ironically, what rules I was showing her right now, I never really follow since I have a strange habit of starting each person by the right eye. No diagrams or lines. Nothing. I never use them. But I knew Namine needed to know these. **(A. a coincidence Xion! I draw the same way!)**

"Thanks for the information Xi!" Namine smiled at me and watched as I finished up my changes.

"No problem."

Secretly from the back of my mind, I felt a small glowering of jealousy. In reality, I wasn't really sure why I felt this way. But maybe I was feeling a little protective of Roxas. Who knew? Maybe I cared about him more deeply than I thought. No not exactly in the romantic area, but more of in 'I like him as close as a sibling.' After all, he was the one who actually lit up my life.

"There. You see how everything is aligned the right way? And be careful with the nose there. I don't really know if you'd agree, but I changed it to this way. Don't spend too much time on it and reduce it to something like this." I pointed to his nose at how simplified it was. Just a point.

"Okay. I get it."

I nodded and looked at her. "Do you want to go somewhere? Oh I dunno, maybe the beach someday."

Namine smiled as she closed her sketchbook and placed in her bag. "Okay. Let's meet up like, next week?"

I smiled as well as I got all my things together and nodded in agreement.

"So, see you at school tomorrow."


End file.
